Statement By The National Assembly Of Zambia Over The Process Of The Appointment Of The Leader Of The Opposition

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY PRESS RELEASE
PRESS STATEMENT
For immediate release,

7th November, 2023

STATEMENT BY THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF ZAMBIA OVER THE PROCESS OF THE AFPOINTMENT OF THE LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION

Following the announcement of the new Leader of the Opposition by the Speaker of the National
Assembly of Zambia, Rt. Honourable Nelly B K Muti, MP, FAPRA and the consequent debate
in the public domain, the Clerk of the National Assembly wishes to state the following:

The appointment of the Leader of the Opposition is provided for under Artiele 74 (2) of the Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) No.2 of 2016.

The Constitution under Article 74 (2) provides that, “the opposition political party with the largest number of seats in the National Assembly shall elect a leader of the opposition from
amongst the Members of Parliament who are from the opposition.

The nation will recall that following the enactment of the new Constitution of Zambia (Amendment) No. 2 of 2016, the United National Development Party (UPND) appointed Mr. Jack Mwimbu, MP as the Leader of the Opposition following communication from the UPND Secretary General.

In a similar manner, following the 2021 general elections and the emergency of the Patriotic
Front (PF) as the largest opposition political party in Parliament Mr. Brian Mundubile, MP was
appointed as the Leader of the Opposition by the Patriotic Front Party.

This again was
communicated to the Speaker of the National Assembly by the then Seretary General of the
Patriotic Front, Mr Davies Mwila.

In light of this precedence, the Speaker of the National Assembly received a Ietter from the Patriotic Front (PF) signed by the Secretary General of the Party, Mr Morgan Ng’ona to the
effect that Mafinga Member of Parliament, Mr. Robert Chabinga, MP had been appointed as Leader of the Opposition replacing Mporokoso Member of Parliament, Mr. Brian Mundubile MP.

Before, the announcement of the changes were made, the office of the Clerk, wrote to the Registrar of Societies to confirm the office Bearers of the Patriotic Front Party.

In the response to the Clerk, the Registrar of Societies confirmed being in receipt of new office Bearers of the Patriotic Front Party, among whom was Mr Morgan Ngona as Secretary General.

You will note that in all the three cited cases, the Leader of the Opposition was communicated by
the Sectetary General to the Speaker of the National Assembly.

The role of the Speaker
therefore, in all these appointments is to merely authenticate the appointment and to announce to
the House and the country in that regard, the National Assembly does not concern itself with the intra-party manner in which the election of the Leader of the Opposition is conducted.

Any member of the public who wishes to obtain more information or clarify on this or any other matter concerning procedures of the National Assembly may contact the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly.